Li Jiazhuang, War Department.

"The 3rd Bombardment Squadron has already carried out a bombing mission." Jia Xu came in and said to Shang Wu. Sangmu nodded to indicate that he understood.

"How's it going?" Shangwu asked.

"Based on their own assessments, the situation does not seem to be too favorable. The main reason is that the lethality caused by the thrown ** is too limited, and in addition, our airship flies over all of them once. After inflicting some casualties, our airship flew back. As far as the enemy's logistical supply lines and personnel replenishment are concerned, the effect is very limited, and the bombing is unlikely to form an effective blockade against the other side. Jia Xu was extremely helpless to tell Shangwu such an effect.

Blockade is the ability to continue to build lethality. The Republican Army airships obviously don't have that many either, and being able to get a squadron of airships to fly there and carry out sustained bombing is already the best effort of the Republican Air Force.

"It seems that we are overestimating our expectations for technology." Shang Wu said helplessly.

"Yes, at present, it seems that the only way is to rely on the arrival of some local militia and artillery units to form a certain combat effectiveness." Jia Xu said.

"Moreover, according to the telegram sent by Luoyang, the Fifth Infantry Division, as a protection of the flank security, cannot draw too many troops at once for the time being, the reason is that they need to maintain law and order, after all, Luoyang is a big city. Robbery, theft, and all kinds of crimes still happen from time to time. It will take us much longer to restore order to that city. Jia Xu said.

Shang Wu was silent after listening, he was thinking about the problem, how to solve such a difficult problem. This problem is a technical problem for them, the effect of the bombing is far lower than expected, which makes the situation on the front line more deviated, in such a situation, how to deal with such a difficult problem, this is a big trouble for the Republican Army.

Zhang Liao battle group. Zhang Liao constantly inspected his defensive circle. Consolidate and strengthen them, but his manpower is seriously insufficient. There is no way, in this case, it is difficult for them to expand more forces to strengthen their defense.

There were some militias in the battle group. But most of them had no combat experience, and most importantly, they were not natives, they were Hanoi people north of the Yellow River, and they did not mean much to hold on to their positions. They won't hold on. Zhang Liao was also extremely untrustworthy of them.

"Go to the prisoner of war camp." Zhang Liao took Adjutant A Shi to the prisoner of war camp.

During the initial interception, the IRA captured a large number of prisoners of war. At first, some militia members will deliberately kill them. But this was soon stopped, and the republican army was not short of food, and prisoners of war were an important source of cheap labor, and the killing of prisoners was banned in the army. After all, the consequences are still very large.

The prisoner of war camps were not very well guarded, after all, there had been several cases of prisoners of war escaping en masse. There are successful and unsuccessful. Successful people who run away face a lot of problems. food, how to keep up with large teams. These all require some reserves to complete.

In order to minimize the ability of the prisoners of war to resist, Zhang Liao ordered that the amount of food they had was reduced to only one meal a day, and only gruel per meal. And the mischief among them was arrested and kept in separate custody.

Even so, POWs are still a big problem, and once their defenses are breached, the problem will become very large. It's a headache.

"How many prisoners of war do we have?" Zhang Liao asked his adjutant.

"Sir, there are probably more than two thousand people." The adjutant said helplessly. There are only more than 800 fighters in the Zhangliao battle group, and this is the result of constant emphasis and supplementation. However, there were more than 2,000 prisoners of war, and in order to prevent the prisoners of war from escaping and causing trouble, Zhang Liao also specially ordered some prisoners of war to be imprisoned in a large pit. This caused a lot of dissatisfaction and panic among the POWs, who feared that the Republican Army would trap them. In desperation, Zhang Liao could only encircle them with barbed wire.

"It's too much." Zhang Liao said.

"Is there any of them who can fight and can be relied on?" Zhang Liao asked his adjutant.

"Sir, these people are unreliable, if you use them to fight, there may be a lot of trouble." The adjutant said worriedly.

"Tell them that they can do their deeds. If you win, there will be rewards, there will be land, and there will be banknotes to issue. If necessary, they will also be awarded medals. Won't they be tempted? Zhang Liao asked.

"But, sir. I still don't think they can be trusted. The other party said.

"The Republican Army also relied on prisoners, and you forgot how we got up, how the first Republican soldiers, fought in battle." Zhang Liao said. The adjutant nodded helplessly. This may indeed be an option.

Zhang Liao lacked too many troops, and it was too troublesome for them to rely on only seven or eight hundred men to defend such a small area. And there are not enough reserves in hand.

There was only one way, and that was to find a way to change the treatment of prisoners of war, to issue them to the level of treatment, to register them, to become new Republican soldiers, and then their situation would probably change a lot.

What Zhang Liao didn't know was that one of his actions actually changed the fate of some people.

Gao Shun sat helplessly on a stone in the prisoner of war camp. His battalion was routed. They were originally deployed on the front line of Bishui Pass as a post-emplacement, but the sudden appearance of the Republican Army made a big change in their situation.

They became the troops who were held back, and then they were coerced by more rebels and broke up the ranks.

In Gaoshun, they were unfortunately attacked by the Republican Army.

It stands to reason that Gao Shun's troops were in first-class equipment, and they had excellent armor, although the role of armor was already very low. But in trench fighting, it has a great advantage. And they were also armed with firearms, or flintlocks. But alas, the ammunition ran out quickly. Plus the inability to get enough supplies. The situation can be imagined.

On the Republican side, on the other hand, they are well-armed and organized. More of an advantage, in this case, they are naturally defeated.

Gao Shun was reluctantly captured, and he was not discovered by several subordinates who changed the soldier's clothing. For officers, the Republican Army will screen out.

"Sir, let's join in." Several of his subordinates pleaded. Their hope of escape was too slim. The food is all rationed, you don't starve to death but you never get full. They can only barely maintain their minimum energy consumption, which is simply not enough to support them to escape.

"Sir, join them to have a greater chance. Otherwise, we will be in a very disadvantageous situation. Several subordinates said.

The Republican Army's recruitment of soldiers soon attracted a response from many prisoners of war. It's not just the treatment, but the most important thing is that the Republican Army is very well equipped. Not to mention the treatment. So, many people are tempted. But the requirements are also strict. People with poor physical fitness are eliminated, and those who violate the law and discipline are eliminated. In short, there are many conditions. But once they join, their situation changes a lot.

Gao Shun looked at his subordinates. In fact, Gao Shun is reflecting. The reason why he couldn't eat was not because the food was not good, but because there were too many reasons for their failure, which made Gao Shun accept too much and too much stimulation at once.

"Okay, let's take a look." Gao Shun was forced to nod.

In fact, Gao Shun wanted to learn about the Republican Army, which was how the army defeated him. He felt very unconvinced, and only after understanding could he understand their own situation.

In fact, his subordinates were thinking about how to leave, or how to change their situation. They were well aware that the consequence of an unsuccessful escape of prisoners of war was death. If they stayed, despite repeated assurances that the IRA would not kill the prisoners. But they really don't dare to afford such a situation. The only way is to cooperate and increase your chances of escaping.

That way, they'll be able to get out of this damn place properly, and it's all up to them to think of it. War is sometimes like this, and the conversion of prisoners of war is often based on their own thoughts.

Cao Ang's company, their situation has improved, the main forces of the 5th Infantry Regiment have arrived here, and the relevant defensive positions have been established.

However, the transport and supply lines between them and the northern logistics forces were cut off. There are many factors that go into this. The situation has not been clarified until now.

The only thing Cao Ang could do was to strengthen his defenses and increase the number of patrol sentinels, and they couldn't do anything else.

If you can't connect the supply lines in time, the situation will become very unfavorable, which is a very bad situation for anyone, and this situation will seriously affect many situations.

Just when the Republican Army was on heightened alert, the Kwantung Coalition Army was slowly advancing, and if they wanted to enter Luoyang, they had to face two Republican Army troops, one was Zhang Liao's battle group, and they could attack at any time on the back or flank. And the other force in front of them was the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Republican Army. Despite the fact that at that time a new infantry regiment, with high morale and excellent equipment, rushed straight through. The Kwantung coalition itself did not know what they would encounter.

But all this, they don't care, because they are moving slowly, and when they encounter some situation, they naturally have the opportunity to attack and then crush the other party. That's what they think, but can it really be?